Baked Cod with Panko Crust (gluten-free)

Photo shows 3 cod fillets with panko crust baked in a sheet pan with lemon butter sauce

5 from 11 votes

Baked Cod with Panko Crust (gluten-free)

Buttery flaky cod fillets with panko crust and lemon butter sauce tastes super yummy, healthy, and easy to make! This is a wonderful sheet pan meal for weeknights and gorgeous looking for easy entertaining!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword Baked cod panko, Baked cod with panko, baked panko cod, cod panko, cod with panko crust, pan crusted cod, panko baked cod, panko cod, Panko cod baked

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings servings

Calories 382kcal

Author ChihYu

Ingredients

For the fish:

4 pieces center-cut cod fillets 6-7 oz per piece
Sprinkle coarse sea salt
Sprinkle ground black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil

For the panko toppings:

½ cup gluten-free panko about 2 tbsp per fillet
1 tsp coarse sea salt
½ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp ground black pepper
2-3 tbsp finely chopped fresh herbs chives, dills, or parsley, or a combination
Quarter one whole lemon juice plus more for serving
3-4 tbsp ghee butter room temperature

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400ºF/204ºC.
Line a large sheet pan with parchment. Pat dry the fish and lightly season with salt and pepper, and grease the fish with ½ tbsp olive oil per fillet on both sides. Bake for 10 minutes on the middle rack.
In the meantime, make the toppings by combining ingredients from panko to lemon juice in a separate bowl.
As soon as the fish is out of the oven, add a little less than 1 tbsp butter on top of each fillet and quickly use a back of the spoon to smear it over. Add about 2 tbsp panko toppings on top of each fillet and use your hands to gently press it in. Some crumbles might fall off and that’s totally okay.
Scoop a few spoonfuls of the melted butter from the sheet pan and drizzle them over the panko breadcrumbs and send the sheet back to the oven for an additional 10-12 minutes. The fish is done when you can flake it easily with a fork. The internal temperature reaches 145ºF/63ºC.
Serve with lemon wedges on the side and serve immediately while the fish is still warm.

Notes

It’s okay to use previously frozen fish. I prefer to ask the fishmonger to cut the pieces for me.
Serve the dish right away. Once it’s cool, the texture tends to become more dry and dense.
Do use the butter as the “glue” to help the panko stick to the fillets. Butter also helps the fish stay moist.
For low carb choice, you can use pork panko, also known as pork rind bread crumbs. The crust might not be as crunchy but the flavor should still be very good.

Nutrition